Kerry Washington has admitted it was tough shooting Scandal while she was pregnant.

The actress was expecting her first child, daughter Isabelle, while also filming challenging episodes of the political thriller, and told The Hollywood Reporter: "The season really broke me."

Kerry - who plays Olivia Pope in the hit TV show - explained: "All of last season was a challenge for me, on a few levels.

"For one thing, I was going through this amazing physical transition, this physical journey of having a baby, that my character was not going through. And I work very physically. What I do is often grounded in the body. That meant I had to figure out how to be this woman while my instrument was changing and evolving every day. It was like seeing the keys on a piano jump around on a daily basis.

"It was tough for me to even maintain Olivia's walk because of the changes."

The 37-year-old actress revealed her character's storylines in the third series were also challenging.

"At the same time, everything I understood about Olivia unravelled because of the storylines," she said.

"The season really broke me.

"I'm a Type A actor who likes to have it all figured out going in, but suddenly I had no idea where this woman was going to go next. I had to jump in without everything being perfect. I felt like I had been in control playing the character, but it all got taken away from me last season.

"That meant my acting toolbox had to be upgraded. I had to trade in my screwdriver and hammer for a Black and Decker power tool."